CEO Q&A: Dr Ningfeng Fiona Li on Preventing the Side Effects of Cancer Treatment
“Cancer treatment should focus not only on fighting the disease, but also on helping patients maintain dignity, confidence and quality of life throughout their care.”~ Dr Li
Dr Ningfeng Fiona Li is the Founder and CEO of VasoDynamics, a biotechnology company developing medicines designed to prevent some of the most challenging side effects of cancer treatment, based at Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst. With a background in clinical oncology and research, Fiona is focused on protecting healthy tissues from treatment related toxicity so that patients can maintain quality of life during therapy.
Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst (SBC) spoke to Fiona about her journey from clinical oncology to founding a biotechnology company, the science behind VasoDynamics, and her vision for improving the experience of patients undergoing cancer treatment.
What inspired you to pursue a career in oncology?
From a young age I wanted to become a doctor working in cancer care. When I was growing up I lost a close friend to leukaemia at the age of eleven only a few months after she was diagnosed. That experience had a profound impact on me and shaped my desire to help cancer patients. During my medical training and later clinical work I became increasingly interested not only in treating cancer itself but also in understanding how to protect normal tissues in the body during treatment.
CEO Dr Ningfeng Fiona Li in the lab with CSO Dr Andrew Leinster
How did the idea for VasoDynamics emerge?
While working in oncology and clinical research I saw how difficult the side effects of cancer treatment can be for patients. This led me to focus on developing medicines designed to prevent or reduce these side effects. Together with my business partner we began building a portfolio of technologies aimed at protecting healthy tissues during cancer therapy. The goal is to allow patients to continue eating, speaking, working and interacting with their families while undergoing treatment.
The journey of VasoDynamics has taken place across several countries. Can you tell us about that?
The company was originally established in Hong Kong, where we developed the early scientific foundation and intellectual property for the technology. When the pandemic began in 2019 and 2020, travel restrictions and operational challenges meant we could no longer continue developing the company there.
As a British citizen based in the UK, I relocated the company’s core activities here and relaunched the business as VasoDynamics. Since then the team has continued progressing the science, completed a Phase 1B clinical trial for our mouthwash product, and begun expanding internationally with subsidiaries in the Netherlands and Beijing.
What is the scientific focus of VasoDynamics today?
Our work focuses on preventing treatment related toxicity before it occurs. Many of the most challenging side effects of cancer therapy arise when treatments damage healthy tissues in the body. Once this damage occurs it can be very difficult to reverse. Our approach is therefore to protect these tissues in advance. The platform currently focuses on protecting the skin, mucosal tissues and hair follicles from the toxic effects of treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
What therapies are currently in development?
We currently have three lead products progressing through late stage development.
- The first is a pharmaceutical mouthwash designed to prevent oral mucositis, a painful condition that can occur during chemotherapy or radiotherapy and can make eating or drinking extremely difficult.
- The second is a dermal topical solution medicine designed to protect patients from radiation induced skin damage during radiotherapy.
- The third is a scalp topical medicine designed to prevent/reduce chemotherapy induced hair loss. This therapy is currently preparing for a combined Phase 2 to Phase 3 clinical trial in breast cancer patients in the UK and Australia.
Together these medicines aim to help patients maintain quality of life while undergoing treatment.
Why is preventing hair loss such an important focus?
Hair loss may not be physically painful, but psychologically it can have a profound impact. In some cases patients hesitate to begin chemotherapy because they fear losing their hair and the impact this may have on their identity and daily life. Supporting patients through these visible side effects is therefore an important part of improving cancer care.
CEO Dr Ningfeng Fiona Li reviewing the scalp medicine applicator
What is your vision for the future of VasoDynamics?
Our goal is to innovate sequential products to prevent/reduce various types of side-effects induced by major cancer treatments, so to support cancer patients and their treatments achieving an optimal outcome, also utilise the best approach to bring our therapies to patients as quickly as possible.
Ultimately I would like to see patients saying that during cancer treatment they were still able to eat, drink, work and interact with family and friends without the severe side effects that can make treatment so difficult. If we can help patients maintain their wellbeing and sense of normal life during therapy then we will have achieved something meaningful.
